Electric toaster



May 6 1924.

g-93,6@ E. A. CHRISTOPH ELECTRIC TOASTER Filed Sept. 28. 1921 Lm/@rdm Emmi @Cm-@mm Patented May 6, 1924.

UNITED STATES EDWARD A. CHRISTOPH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC TOASTER.

Application led September 28, 1921.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD A. Ci-I'Ris- Torn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electric Toasters, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to electric toasters, and more s pecifically to improvements intended to lessen the cost and increase kthe durability of such devices, and to facilitate production in large quantities.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a yplan view of an illustrative embodiment of my invention; and

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Figures 3 and 4 are sections on lines 3 3 and 4 4, respectively, of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a detail view of a modification.

In the embodiment of my invention selected for illustration, the main fra-me of the device comprises a simple U shaped sheet metal stamping 10, and an end piece 12 having lugs 14 overlapping the ends of the sides of the frame piece 10.

Four duplicate sheet metal legs 16 are provided bent to angular cross-section and having flaring feet 18. One side of each leg projects past the other side and is bent over as at 2O to form a flat surface for supporting the corner of the insulating plate 22 upon which the heating resistances are mounted. Each leg is riveted into one corner of the frame by rivets 24 an eXtra long rivet 26 being provided to pass through the lower corners of lugs 14. Simple machine screws 28 pass downwardly through the corners of plate 22, supporting leg tops 20,

spacer sleeves 30, and the corners of the bot-v tom protecting plate 32, all of which parts are held in position by nuts 34 threaded on the lower end of the screws.

A plurality of helical coils 35 of high resistance wire extend across the upper surface of plate 22, being supported in spaced relation therefrom by engagement at their ends with supporting clips 40, and at substantially their middle point with the upper edge of a strip of mica 42. In the embodiment illustrated five duplicate supporting clips 40 are provided each attached to plate 22 by a central holding screw 44 and having its ends offset upwardlyl as clearly Serial No. 503,857.

shown in Figure 3 to support the heating elements at the proper height. Terminal clamping screws 46 are threaded into the ends of supports 40 to clamp the heating elements thereto.

At the left end of the device as seen in Figure 1, which I shall refer to for convenience as the head end, the outside heating element on either side is connected to a single support 48 similar to support 4() but having only one raised end. The holding screws 50 for supports 48 are connected underneath plate 22 to the ends of the electric cord 52, `by means of which current is delivered to the device. It will be apparent upon reference to Figure 1 that in this particular embodiment the elements are all connected' in series, and that the current fiows across plate 22 from end to end six times. Any individual section, of the resistance, wire. which may deteriorate. or be accidentally broken or injured, may be readily removed and replaced without disturbing any other parts of the device. Fastening screws 46, which are removed for this purpose, are also employed to prevent accidental turning of support 40 -about holding screw 44 by being extended downwardly to penetrate slightly into plate 22. This is particularly advantageous in the case of support 48.

A grid comprising a bail 54 and a plurality of cross members 56 overlies the device to support the material to be toasted. A sheet metal clip 58 is bent to encircle the bail 54 and provide apivotal mounting for the same, said clip having a flat portion lying in contact with the frame piece 10 and clamped thereto by the threaded end 60 of handle 62.

lVithout further elaboration the foregoing will so fully explain the gist of my invention, that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service. It will, for instance, be obvious that where the wire for making up the resistances is available in helical coils of indefinite length, the coils may be all one piece of wire, as in Figure 5, the portion 64 extending between adjacent fasteners 46 being formed by pulling one or two turns of the helix out straight, when the parts are being assembled.

A considerable saving of sheet metal is accomplished by positioning lead wires and the bushing 66 in a depending portion 68 on the end piece 12, rather than at the opposite end of the'device; but handle 62 could, if desired, be located at the same end as the wire 52, by putting the handle also on end piece 12.

These and many other modifications may be resorted to without eliminating certain items which may properly be said to constitute the essential features of novelty involved, which items are intended to be dened and secured tome by the following claims. l I

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a supporting plate, a heating element, and a support for holding said heating element in spaced relation with respect to said plate, said support comprising a portion lying in contactI with said plate and a portion offset therefrom, a fastening element i passing through the portion of said support in contact with said plate, and a terminal fastening element passing through the offset portion of said support and also penetrating said plate.

2. In an electric toaster, a frame, a grid overlying said frame and pivoted at one end thereto, the pivotal connect-ion comprising a metal clip lying in contact With. said frame, and a handle for said frame having a shank threaded through said frame and passing through said clip to clamp the clip in place.

3. .In an electric toaster, a support lfor the heating elements comprising a meta-l strip having its central portion offset from its end portions, means passing through the central portion for attaching the strip to a supporting plate, means passing through the end portions for attaching heating elements thereto, said second means projecting past the plane of the center of the strip to engage the supporting plate and prevent rotation of the strip about said first means.

#la In an electric toaster', a U-shaped frame piece, an end member bridging said U, said end member having a central portion projecting downward, and `an insulating bushing supported on said downwardly projecting portion, and in its turn supporting electric current carrying wires leading to the interior of the frame.

In witness whereof, I hereunto sub-scribe my name this 26th day of September, 1921.

EDVARD A. CHRISTOPH. 

